The present invention relates generally to stump grinding teeth, and more particularly to a mechanism for retaining a stump grinding tooth to a stump grinding tooth mounting mechanism.
Stump grinders are well known in the art. These machines typically comprise a stump grinding wheel that is mounted for rotary motion to a chassis and driven by a motor. A plurality of stump grinding teeth are mounted to the wheel in annularly spaced relation to one another, either to the side surfaces of the wheel or to the peripheral edge of the wheel. In either event, a mounting mechanism is used to fix the tooth relative to the wheel.
In its most basic embodiment, a pocket clamps a tooth to the wheel and a pair of blots fixes the pocket to the wheel. In embodiments where the tooth is mounted around the peripheral edge of the wheel, an O-ring or similar type of fastening mechanism is used to fix the tooth to the mounting block which in turn may be brazed or otherwise affixed to the wheel. Regardless of the type of mounting mechanism used, it takes a bit of time and tools to detach a worn or broken tooth from a mounting mechanism, and replace it with a new tooth.
While wood generally degrades the edge of the cutting bits, oftentimes they come into contact with foreign objects embedded in the wood, such as rock, nails, or other hard substances. The impact with these objects accelerates the degradation of the cutting bits. Once the edge is worn beyond an acceptable limit, the tooth or teeth must be changed.
Traditionally, changing the teeth required the operator to use a drill or other tool to remove bolts that fasten a pocket to the wheel. The teeth, in turn, are clamped to the wheel by the pockets. This process is laborious, and with conventional teeth, the entire tooth has to be discarded and replaced with a new tooth. Thus, in addition, to the downtime associated with changing the teeth, the teeth themselves raise the expense associated with the grinding operation.
It is a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a clip that expedites the removal and replacement of a stump grinding tooth to a mounting mechanism.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a tooth retaining clip that adds durability to the tooth assembly.
It is therefore a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide a tooth assembly that reduces the labor associated with having to change a tooth on a grinding machine.
It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a tooth assembly that permits cutting bits to be replaced as opposed to having to replace an entire tooth, thereby lowering the cost to the lowest consumable.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.